


That's For One

by heartofthejunk



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Gay, M/M, nursey doesn't know he's bi, nurseydex - Freeform, some mentions of homophobia?, very small though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-17 03:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9301310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartofthejunk/pseuds/heartofthejunk
Summary: Derek doesn't know he's bisexual and William definitely knows he's gay.In which Derek has nine things he's needed everyone to know over the last few months.(Based off of a post by officialvegasaces on tumblr)





	

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in so long, and I've never written nurseydex. Hope you enjoy!!

Derek Malik Nurse is not homophobic. That’s for one. He has two mothers.

He just thinks that his occasional…  _ not straight _ thoughts are normal, regular, run of the mill straight guy thoughts. He’s allowed to think that his barista at Allie’s is cute, right? And it’s definitely okay to say that some dude’s ass looked great, correct? It’s normal. Straight.

Telling himself he was straight was by no means homophobic. Not at all. He was a huge LGBT supporter. How could he not be? After Jack and Bitty came out, and of course, living several years with his moms, he had not a single thing against those that were interested in people of the same gender. Not a single thing. Love was love, right? Love knew nothing but love; Nursey fiercely believed this. Not a thing mattered if you loved someone. He just knew that he’d never love a guy. He was straight. Straight, straight, straight, and a wonderful ally.

He would continue to be a wonderful ally when William J. Poindexter comes out in the team groupchat. That’s for two. Dex was one of his best friends, despite to competitiveness between them. 

He came out quite casually - a short “hey guys i’m sorta gay thought i’d tell everyone” with some ironic clapping emojis afterward. Nursey thinks that’s so typical Dex. But if it was so typical Dex, why did Nursey think about it for a month afterward? He couldn’t think for a week, couldn’t sleep for two, and three weeks later he was still recovering his chill facade. If he was such a good ally, what was going on in his head to have him think of this so often? He would think if his comments were too flirty, or if maybe Dex’s were, and he constantly thought about how he was overthinking this. He and Dex had been friends long enough; Dex wouldn’t get the wrong idea. 

Why was he even thinking about it? Of course Dex would never hit on him. Just because Dex was gay didn’t mean that he would just go around trying to pick up guys everywhere he went. Nursey didn’t go around hitting on every girl he saw because he was interested in girls in general. He cursed himself for being such a terrible ally and obsessing over something so insignificant as this. It didn’t matter that Dex was gay anymore than it mattered that Nursey was straight. He tried to correct himself and his thoughts, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Dex’s type was.

Derek doesn’t have a problem. That’s for three. He’s totally chill.

When Dex is talking to him about some coding assignment he’s only half listening. He’s staring at the space between Dex’s right shoulder and ear. He’s nodding and humming along, hoping that Dex doesn’t notice that he’s totally zoned out. The phrase that snaps him out of his trance is when Dex sighs and says, “Dude, what’s your problem lately?”

Nursey shakes his head. “Problem? I don’t have one. What were you saying about Professor Jackson’s monotonous voice?” He  _ was _ listening, just not fully. Dex seemed to be satisfied with the response, chirping him for doing “English-Majorly” things because he used the word monotonous. Later that night, when Nursey was in his bed, he thought about what Dex has said earlier that day.  _ Did he have a problem? _ He didn’t think so at first, but going back in his memory proved his initial thoughts wrong. For the last month, it seemed that Nursey  _ did _ have a problem, but only around Dex. He cringed at memories of himself stuttering and tripping and not being able to look Dex in the eye. This was  _ definitely  _ not due to Dex’s recent coming out. It couldn’t be. Nursey had other gay friends, two gay moms, and he’d never been like this. What was his problem?

Derek’s problem wasn’t that he liked William. That’s for four. After all, he’s straight.

After a long night of studying, Nursey and Lardo were the only two left awake, eating cookie dough out of huge tub of it, which was now half empty. Nursey scribbled a few abstract adjectives on an index card and looked up to see Lardo looking at him, a confused look on her face. Her nose was scrunched up and her eyebrows were knit together. “What’s up?” he asked casually, putting down his index cards and pencil.

Lardo scooped out some cookie dough and Nursey picked up his spoon and followed suit. Lardo stared at her spoon before asking, “You have a thing for Dex, don’t you?”, causing Nursey to choke on the spoonful of cookie dough he had shoved down his throat. Lardo gasped in alarm but Nursey held up a hand to signal,  _ I’m alright. _ She breathed a quick sigh of relief. “Sorry dude, didn’t know you’d react that way.”

Nursey waved her off. “No worries,” he croaked, his throat still a bit raw. “But I don’t ‘have a thing’ for Dex. I'm straight.”

Lardo gave him a sideways look and shrugged. “Whatever man.” She tapped her temple with her pointer finger. “It’s all a head game.” With that, she put her spoon next to the sink and left Nursey in the kitchen with his study cards. Nursey didn’t know what she had meant by  _ “It’s all a head game,” _ and wondered about it from the late night into the early morning of the next day. He’d been right to say he didn’t have a thing for Dex. He’d never want to lie to Lardo, whom he trusted with his life. He didn’t lie… right?

Derek wasn’t jealous. That’s for five. He was just protective of William, his teammate, his backbone, his  _ friend. _

When Dex starts talking about some guy named Jason in his Computer Forensics class, Nursey immediately doesn’t like him. Don’t get him wrong, he’s honored that Dex trusts him and Chowder with talking about things like this; after all, Chowder talks about Farmer all the time and if Nursey was interested in a girl, Chowder and Dex would be the first people he would tell. He just has no interest in hearing about  _ Jason _ . 

Every day, Dex would come to him and Chowder with a new story full of  _ Jason  _ this and  _ Jason  _ that. Nursey finds himself getting angrier and angrier, but why? Maybe it was that he thought this Jason guy didn’t seem good enough for Dex, but he could be wrong. He’d never met the guy - he supposed he couldn’t judge him yet. Maybe he was just worried Dex would end up hurt; yes, that was it! He wanted the best for Will, and he didn’t know if this Jason guy was the best. Nursey didn’t know if he was more worried that he  _ would _ meet the guy or that he  _ wouldn’t _ . Would Jason and Dex start dating? Dex had said Jason was bisexual. Were they already dating? Nursey didn’t think they were. He liked to think Dex might tell him if they were.

One day, Nursey and Chowder were sitting on Chowder’s bed as he was getting ready for a date with Farmer. Nursey had been recruited to help Chowder choose an outfit, as he was impromptuly voted the best dressed out of anyone on the team. Chowder was pulling on socks when he suddenly said to Nursey, “I love Farmer.”

Derek laughed. “I know. And you know that’s a fine.” He stuck out his hand and made a grabbing motion. “Fork it over.”

Chowder shook his head but pulled a few crumpled dollar bills from his pocket. “I’d be pretty jealous if she was hanging out with some other guy and seemed to like him too.”

Nursey blinked. “You think that I… I’m jealous of  _ Jason? _ ” he muttered in disbelief. He shook his head. “No way, man. Dex and I are just buds. I’m straight.”

Chowder just shrugs, and Nursey suddenly gets flashbacks from his conversation with Lardo. Later on, he wonders why everyone thinks he likes Dex all of a sudden. He wasn’t the one who came out, Dex was! He wondered if Will was being chirped like this too. He secretly hoped that Dex didn’t have to deal with it - he really did seem like he liked this Jason guy.

Slowly, stories of Jason weren’t told anymore. Nursey is a bit relieved. Dex doesn’t seem upset, so he didn’t think they had a fallout. He thinks that Dex would tell him and Chowder if that had happened. He now gets lots of side glances from Chowder during their conversations with Dex and quite frankly, it made him a bit uncomfortable. He wasn’t really jealous of Jason. All he was was a bit protective of Dex, that was all. He’d feel the same way if he didn’t know Farmer - it’s just how he was.

An inkling in the back of his mind told him that his self proclaimed ‘protectiveness’ was something more, but he kept that quiet. He liked things enough the way they were.

Derek wasn’t as straight as he thought he was. That’s for six. He figured this out at the Winter Screw.

Nursey was scrambling for a date. Everyone went to the Screw with a date. It was impossible to go without. It was a travesty. He’d be shunned. He’d be a disgrace. It’d be terrible. Horrific. And then he had a thought - what if he asked Dex? Not as a date, of course, but as a friend. They could just show up together and it’d be cool and okay and everyone would understand that a gay guy and a straight guy could be friends and go to a party together and not be there  _ together _ .

All of this sounded wonderful. That was until Nursey was told Dex had a date. It wasn’t even Dex that told him. He was discussing his plan with Bitty when Bitty sighed deeply and frowned. “Sorry to break to you honey, but Dex has a date. He’s going with someone named Louis.” Nursey must’ve looked extremely crushed, because Bitty showed him a comforting smile. “I’m sure he likes you better than that Louis fella,” he whispered, glancing around the kitchen to see if anyone was around to hear them. “I can tell. You two remind me of me and Jack.”

Nursey shook his head. “Sorry Bitts, but I’m not into Dex like that. He’s my fellow d-man and one of my best friends. Besides, I’m straight.”

Bitty smirked knowingly.The oven  _ dinged!  _ and Bitty took a pie out of it. “That’s what I used to say,” he sing-songed, walking away with the smell of pie following him. Nursey was too confused with not only Bitty but himself, so he went to the terrible green couch and turned on the television to get his mind off of things.

He felt hurt, but why? He had no feelings for Dex like that. He was just his best friend. He supposed he was hurt because Bitty knew about Louis before he did. That was all. He wished Dex would’ve told him so he didn’t make himself look like an idiot in front of Bitty.

With the Winter Screw growing closer and closer, Nursey asks a friend, Jane from English Society, who agrees to go on just friend terms. He tells Dex, who smiles brightly and pats him in the back, congratulating him. The moment plays back in his head, and he wonders if he’s imagining Dex’s smile to be a bit off from his real smile. He frowns to himself, knowing this is only wishful thinking.

On the night of the Screw, Nursey, for some reason, feels inclined to actually give a shit about what he’s wearing. It's not like he has a date to impress; he’s only going with a good friend of his, and they were both in agreement with the friend equation. He thinks he has something in the back of his mind telling him to dress this way but he can’t put his finger on it. Maybe he just wants to look nice on purpose for once. That was it.

After he picks Jane up from the dorm and arrives at the party, he decides tonight will be the night he watches what he drinks. He then thinks that that’s hilarious, because when does he ever watch what he drinks? He goes to the kitchen and fills up a red solo cup with the cheap alcohol on the counter.

An hour later, Nursey is still stone-cold sober. He hasn’t drank much - he’s still on his first cup. He goes to the kitchen to refill and notices that he hasn’t seen Dex yet, not that he was thinking about it. He goes into the living area where most people are and figures he’d be able to spot Dex easily - after all, Dex  _ is _ a redhead. 

Derek suddenly thinks that maybe looking for Dex wasn’t such a good idea.

Any straight man would be able to tell that Dex’s date, Louis, was goddamn  _ beautiful.  _ Maybe he was some sort of model, probably foreign. He was tall and chiseled and Nursey was sure that Louis would be able to pick him up using only his pinky. Dex deserved someone so gorgeous, he reasoned, but that didn’t stop him from clenching his fist and crushing the cup in his hand.

Derek was bisexual. That was for seven. And he was in love with Will. 

Two weeks after the Winter Screw, during a particularly long and late study session, it hit him. He was  _ in love with Dex _ . His d-man. His teammate. His friend. Two weeks after seeing him with Louis, two weeks of them dating, two weeks of Nursey being passively aggressive towards Dex without a single reason why. Two weeks of complete hell, leaving Nursey in confusion, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. And now he knew there was no denying it was true - he wasn’t straight.

He thought about telling Chowder and the decided that no one needed to know. With Dex happily in a relationship with  _ Perfect Louis _ , what did it matter? Dex probably didn’t like him that way anyways. Nursey wouldn’t interfere with him and Louis. His feelings would go away anyways.

He drank away his feelings at kegsters and ate away his feelings when he wanted to be sober. To compensate for all the food he was eating, he worked out more, and when he worked out he got more easily tired so he slept more. He barely saw Dex anymore, and as much as that killed him, he thought it was for the best. If he saw Dex, he knew he’d break down and tell him everything. He avoided the haus and Allie’s and anywhere he thought Dex might be. He only saw him at practices and games, and he refused to speak with him off the ice.

One day Chowder caught Nursey leaving the gym. “Dude,” he said, grabbing into Nursey’s arms so that he couldn’t get away. “You gotta talk to Dex.”

Nursey snorted. “Yeah? And why’s that? Why can’t he just talk to  _ Louis? _ ” he spit, trying to rid of Chowder’s grasp. Chris gripped his arms tighter, not letting him free.

“Will and Louis broke up. Louis broke up with him.”

Nursey’s jaw went slack in surprise. “That asshole…” he mutters.

Chowder looks him in the eyes. “Derek. He needs you. He’s in my room at the haus crying his eyes out and digging into a blueberry pie.”

“But he hates blueberry pie.”

“Exactly! Now go. Only you can help him.” Chowder releases Nursey and jogs into the gym. Nursey has never ran so fast in his life.

Will is a beautiful crier. That’s for eight. Derek has never seen something so sad look so beautiful.

Nursey is out of breath and sweaty when he bursts into Chowder’s room but he doesn’t care. Sitting on the bed is Will, his eyes as red as his hair. The blueberry pie in his lap is half finished and there can of whipped cream next to him seems to be completely empty.  _ The Vow _ is playing on the tv screen that’s the only source of light in the room - Nursey only knows the movie because of his family. Dex is sniffling like an idiot and he’s wrapped in a Sharks blanket that Nursey can only assume is Chowder’s.

When Nursey opens the door Dex doesn’t look up. “I thought you were going to the gym,” he murmured, eyes trained on Rachel McAdams’s character.

Nursey smiled sadly. “I was at the gym but I decided a certain someone who hates blueberry pie might need me more than the weights did.”

Dex looks up and he shows a small smile. “Derek. Hi.”

Nursey notes the way Dex called him Derek and the way his raw voice sounded saying his name. He wouldn’t mind hearing it over and over again if it didn’t mean that Will had been crying. Nursey sits down next to Dex on the bed. He takes the blueberry pie from Dex’s lap, Dex only emitting a small whine. He doesn’t say a word, only throws his arms around Dex and holding him. Will doesn’t say anything either, only bursting into tears and burying his head in Nursey’s neck.

Derek Malik Nurse and William J. Poindexter were going to be alright. That was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to scream about Check Please! check out my tumblr (ocean-rising)


End file.
